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Many find “work ability management” a difficult term. Once you have gotten used to people management, should you now move on to managing work ability? Once you realise that you are still managing people, the term no longer feels so complicated any more. Work ability management has direct impacts on employees’ well-being and productivity and the success of an organisation. This is why the theme of this Telma issue is extremely important.
The management of people’s – in this case, the personnel’s – work ability is based on proactive decision-making. Work and the working environment must be designed so that the overburdening of the personnel can be avoided. Failed work ability management often results in rehabilitation or even disability pension. However, in this context you should also keep in mind that good work ability management also includes support for reduced work ability.
Supervisors play a crucial role in work ability management. In addition to looking after the physical working environment, they must be able to identify each individual’s skills, strengths and development areas and provide them with any required support. In fact, work ability management is about caring and, almost without exception, employees consider it a positive phenomenon at the workplace.
In my opinion, the most challenging aspect of work ability management is constant change. An individual’s work ability varies during their working life for many different reasons. The reasons are often related also to factors outside work. Indeed, supervisors must constantly make decisions related to maintaining an individual’s work ability in a very tangled thicket of cause and effect. Fortunately, at many workplaces, flexible working hours and remote work opportunities make it easier to find the optimal solution.
I hope you find this Telma issue useful and I wish you have a safe autumn!
Schools are shared workplaces with employees from several employers. People at Havukoski School are constantly thinking about how to develop safety and ensure that messages are transferred effectively even in dangerous situations.
Improving occupational safety at a shared workplace requires cooperation, clear operating models and continuous monitoring.
Improving safety requires continuous risk assessment and effective communication. Monitoring by occupational safety and health authorities has revealed significant shortcomings in occupational safety and health at shared workplaces.
At the Meyer Turku shipyard, approximately 80 per cent of the production of cruise ships is subcontracted. Matti Tuimala, Safety Manager at the shipyard, explains how safety is ensured at the huge shared workplace.
